Oracle Community Forum Guide - Part 3/3

The following guide focuses on practical aspects using the Oracle community forum software and contains exclusive information and descriptions. It explains concepts and information workflow, as well as addressing common questions seen in the community feedback forum.

Disclaimer:

This document has been written solely by the mentioned author in the hope to provide useful information for members of the Oracle community forum. It is not meant to be a complete reference or substitute for documentation provided by Oracle, or the forum software product. Please use at your own risk.

Copyright:

The document is presented under the terms of using the Oracle Web sites at:

This document is split into 3 parts. For more information, please see the appropriate index when opening the appropriate document links. For feedback, suggestions or questions, please respond to Oracle Community Forum Guide.

4 Editor

The following covers frequently asked topics and tips about using the forum editor.

Note:

At the time of this writing, several functions, in particular Syntax Highlighting, are known to have compatibility and other issues. For more information, please see:List of forum editor issues and bugs.

4.1 Advanced Editor

Advanced functions, such as changing the font or Syntax Highlighting, are only available in the advanced forum editor.

Open a forum post by clicking on the subject line of the thread.

Click on Use advanced editor located in above the editor toolbar.

Note:

The advanced forum editor is not available when replying to posts from within the Dashboard, forum overview or Communications page.

4.1 Quoting

Press the Quote icon in the editor toolbar to automatically quote and paste the content of the post you are replying to:

Tip:

You can paste or write any text, then mark it with the mouse and press the Quote tool to apply the appropriate formatting. When you start a new discussion, the Quote tool is located under the >> (Insert) menu, available in the advanced editor mode.

4.2 Code Formatting

The forum editor provides a Syntax Highlighting tool, which was designed to format Code:

Paste or write your Code into the forum editor window.

Mark all the Code with your mouse.

Select >> from the editor toolbar and choose on appropriate option from Syntax Highlighting.

Note:

At the time of this writing, Syntax Highlighting has several compatibility and other issues.

4.2.1 Alternative Code Formatting

The Syntax Highlighting tool may currently not be the best option to present Code as it suppresses spaces and empty lines, and uses a proportional font, which affects readability. If you do not like the way how Syntax Highlighting works, perhaps you will find the following alternative useful:

Paste or write your Code into the forum editor window.

Replace all line endings with Shift-Return.

Mark all Code with your mouse.

Select >> from the editor toolbar and choose Quote from Syntax Highlighting.

Mark all Code again.

Choose Courier New from the list of available fonts.

Note:

Depending on your web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox and MS Internet Explorer, you may generally see double line spacing when pasting text from forum posts to your computer; including Code with Syntax Highlighting. While this behavior may change in future versions of the software, currently the only known work-around is to use a different web browser, or prevent such issues in the first place by replacing all line endings with Shift-Return when creating the forum post.

4.3 Resizing the Editor Window

You can adjust the size of the forum editor window by dragging the lower right corner of the editing frame.

5 Monitoring

5.1 Concepts

Following and Tracking monitor forum activity and inform you about forum updates. You can Follow and Track any forum space, content or user, and even combine it as you wish. Following and Tracking have different features and use different notification channels.

You can Follow any forum space, document or thread by clicking the Follow button. You can also Follow a user by adding them as a Friend, in which case you automatically Follow each other's forum activity. Activity updates of everything you are Following is recorded the Dashboard, such as new posts, responses and content changes. The Dashboard provides a Following filter, allowing you to review all information in a central place. Threads and documents you are Following can be listed in your user profile (Your Stuff), similar to bookmarks.

Tracking can be enabled for any forum space, thread or user. When information you are Tracking updates, such as new posts and responses, you receive a notification in Communications. The Communications page is also used for exchanging Direct Messages and when another forum member Mentions you. When you create a forum post, Tracking is enabled automatically. The Communications page displays an unread message counter similar to e-mail and new messages are therefore less likely to miss.

You can also configure automatic e-mailing of information updates that you are Following and Tracking, or both, and even setup e-mailing of forum and content updates you are not Following or Tracking - the choice is yours.

Note:

When modifying a post or document, you can select Minor edit, don't send notifications or update streams displayed at the bottom of the forum editor window, in which case the forum Activity Stream or Dashboard is not notified.

Tip:

Forum posts that have been locked or archived cannot be updated and are therefore no longer subject to Tracking or Following. However, threads or documents you are Following can be listed in Content Following (Your Stuff), similar to Bookmarks.

5.2 Following

5.2.1 Dashboard

All community or forum activity is recorded in the forum activity stream, such as anyone creating a post, publishing a document, responding to a post, modifying content and even pressing the Likes button. The Dashboard simply displays all forum events in the order they arrive. To review any updates of information you are Following, open the Dashboard using the Followed Activity filter.

Click on DASHBOARD in the web page banner.

Select the FollowedActivity tab.

5.2.2 Your Content (Your Stuff)

Any thread or document you are Following - not forum spaces, are recorded in Your Content page (Your Stuff).

Click on your usernamehandle.

Select the Content page.

Select Following.

Tip:

Threads and documents which you are specifically Following can be listed in Your Content page (Your Stuff) under Following, similar to Bookmarks.

5.2.3 Enable Following

5.2.3.1 Following a Forum Space

To Follow a forum space:

Open the forum space you wish to Follow and choose the Overview page (default).

Click the Follow button.

Note:

Enabling or disablingFollowing of a forum space does not affect the Following of individual threads and documents.

5.2.3.2 Following Threads and Documents

To Follow threads and documents:

Open the forum post or document you wish to Follow.

Click the Follow button.

5.2.4 Disable Following

To disable Following, open the appropriate forum space, thread or document and click on Following. Alternatively, Following threads and documents can also be disabled from Your Content page, shown below:

Click on your username handle.

Select the Content page.

Select Following.

Select Actions (gear wheel) and choose Following.

Note:

Followed Activity in the Dashboard can be the result of following a forum space, thread, document or person. Unfortunately, browsing the Followed Activity tab in the Dashboard does not show what caused the information to appear. You can however open the appropriate thread and also the forum spaces that contain the thread, as explained in chapter 2.5, to check if you are Following any of the information. You may also want to keep in mind that you are automatically Following your own activity and the activity of Friends.

5.3 Tracking

5.3.1 Communications

The Communications page features a read and unread counter, which increases whenever information you are Tracking has been updated, and decreases whenever you have read it. The appropriate number of unread messages is displayed next to Communications in the forum banner.

To open your personal Communications page, click on Communications located in the forum banner:

Tip:

To mark a post or message as read or unread, click the blue rectangle.

5.3.2 Start Tracking

5.3.2.1 Tracking a Forum Space

To start Tracking of a forum space:

Open a forum space or category and choose the Overview page (default).

Click on Track in Communications (blue) from the list of Action items.

5.3.2.2 Tracking a Thread or Document

To start Tracking a forum thread or document:

Open the forum post or document.

Click on Track in Communications (blue) from the list of Action items.

Note:

When you create a forum post or participate in a discussion, Tracking of the thread is started automatically.

5.3.2.3 Tracking a User

To start Tracking a user:

Click on a username or username handle.

Select the Activity tab.

Click on Track in Communications.

5.3.3 Stop Tracking

To stop Tracking, open the appropriate forum, thread, document or user porifle and click on Stop Tracking from Actions.

Note:

Unfortunately, there is currently no option available to list all information you are Tracking.

5.4 E-mail

In addition to monitoring and receiving notifications about updates in the Dashboard and Communications page, the forum software also allows you to e-mail the information, as well as e-mailing updates of forum spaces, threads and documents you are not Following or Tracking.

5.4.1 E-mail Preferences

5.4.1.1 Following and Tracking

To setup automatic e-mailing of updates of any information your are Following or Tracking, or both:

Login and click on the down-arrow next your username handle

Select Preferences from the pull-down menu.

Configure the options under Send me email notifying me about.

5.4.2 E-mail by Action

5.4.2.1 Forum Space and Content

You can also configure automatic e-mailing of a forum space and thread updates by using the appropriate Action item. For instance, you may wish to manage information about updates in the Dashboard or Communications page, but prefer to receive e-mail notifications only from specific forum spaces or threads.

Open a forum space (Overview), or any thread or document.

Click on Receive email notifications from the list of Action items.

Likewise, the same option exists for threads and documents.

5.4.2.2 User Profile

Click on a username or username handle.

Select the Activity tab.

Click on Receive email notifications.

5.4.3 Disable E-mail

To stop e-mail notifications of all information updates you are Tracking and Following, re-configure your account preferences accordingly.

To stop notifications for forum spaces, threads, documents or users, open the appropraite page where you previously clicked on Receive email notifications and select Stop email notifications.

Note:

Unfortunately, there is currently no option available to list all information for which you have e-mailing enabled. However, the e-mail you have received contains a link to open the full discussion where you can check your Action settings.

6 Communication

6.1 Friends

Friendscan send each other Direct Messages and are automatically Following each other's forum activity. Forum activity of Friends, such as creating or modifying a post or published document, responding or pressing Likes, can be reviewed in the Dashboard's Followed Activity tab.

6.1.1 Sending a Friend Request

In order to become Friends, you need to send a request:

Click on an person's avatar or username handle to open the person's profile.Or click on BROWSE in the page banner and choose People.

Click the Add as friend button.

To see the current status of your request, open the other person's profile and check whether your request is still Awaiting approval:

6.1.2 Accepting a Friend

To accept a Friend:

Select Notifications in the page banner.

Click the Action Alerts tab.

Click the Accept button.

When your press Reject or Accept, the other person receives an appropriate message in Notifications:

Tip:

When you press the Ignore button, the other person will not receive a notification, however the Awaiting approval that the person sees when opening your profile will have disappeared and show Add as friend again.

6.1.3 Removing a Friend

You may remove a Friend any time for any reason, for instance, to no longer allow the person to send you direct messages:

Click on your username handle in the page banner to open your profile.

Click on Friends to list all your Friends

Click the Remove as friend button.

Choose Yes or No to confirm the action.

Tip:

When you remove a Friend, the person will not be notified.

6.1.4 Monitoring Friends

To see what the forum activity of your Friends, open the DASHBOARD and choose Followed Activity.

6.2 Direct Messages

Note:

You can send Direct Messages to your Friends only.

To send a direct message to another forum member:

Select Communications in the page banner.

Click on Send Direct Message.

Click on Select People

Type your messages, You can also click the sign to mention people, spaces or threads, and include a picture.

Direct Messages appear in the recipient's Communications page:

6.3 Mentioning

The forum editor uses a special @ function that provides a convenient option to add a link to another thread or content, or to inform a forum space or member about your post. You can use the Mention function whenever you edit a post or document.

You can type the @ sign to select from a list of friends or recent history.

To add a link to a forum thread, type the @ sign followed by some search criteria. Then simply select the result to insert it into your post.

Note:

Use an underscore ( _ ) to search for multiple words.

When you mention a forum member, a notification is automatically send to the appropriate member's Communications page.

When you mention a forum space, a special note is added to the appropriate forum space as shown below: